A container for dispensing a spreadable food product consists of a housing, a platform positioned within the housing for supporting the spreadable food product, a dispensing mechanism mounted in the housing and attached to the platform for moving the platform from the bottom end of the housing towards the open top end of the housing along an axis for dispensing the spreadable food product, and a cover for covering the housing when not in use. The top end may be of convex, concave, slotted or other shapes and designs.
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1. A container for dispensing a spreadable food product, said container comprising:
a housing having a top end with ribs which provide a grid and slots for dispensing the spreadable food product through said slots, a bottom end, and a side wall;
a platform positioned within the housing for supporting the spreadable food product, the spreadable food product being supported on a top surface of the platform;
a dispensing member mounted in the housing and attached to the platform for moving the platform from the bottom end of the housing towards the open top end of the housing along an axis for dispensing the spreadable food product, wherein the dispensing member includes:
(a) a threaded rod upon which the platform is movably engaged; and
(b) a rotary dial for turning the threaded rod, and thereby moving the platform; and
a cover for covering the top end of the housing when not dispensing the spreadable food product,
wherein the spreadable food product is pre-loaded within the housing such that the container is a one-time use dispenser.
5. A method for dispensing a spreadable food product comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a container for dispensing a spreadable food product, the container being formed of:
a housing having an open top end for dispensing the spreadable food product, a bottom end, and a side wall;
a platform positioned within the housing for supporting the spreadable food product, the spreadable food product being supported on a top surface of the platform; and
a dispensing member mounted in the housing and attached to the platform for moving the platform from the bottom end of the housing towards the open top end of the housing along an axis for dispensing the spreadable food product, wherein the dispensing member includes:
(1) a threaded rod movably engaging the platform; and
(2) a rotary dial for turning the threaded rod, and thereby moving the platform;
(b) filling the container with an initial amount of the spreadable food product, resulting in a filled container;
(c) providing the filled container as a one-time use dispenser dispensing the spreadable food product for consumption; and
(d) disposing of the container after the initial amount of spreadable food product is used.
3. The container of
4. The container of
6. A method as claimed in
7. A method as claimed in
9. A method as claimed in
10. A method as claimed in
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The present invention relates to a dispenser for a spreadable food product, such as solid butter, butter substitute spreads (e.g., margarine), cream cheese, jellies, nut butters, fruit butters or other similar materials.
Solid butter, cream cheese, or other food products that are sensitive to temperature and melt at hotter temperatures are usually available either in plastic or cardboard tubs of various sizes or wrapped in a wrapper while shaped in a parallelepiped shape. To use the product, people scoop out the substance with knives or other implements and spread it on food items, such as bread, corn, etc. Spreading it on such things as corn on the cob, in particular, may prove challenging at times: 1) it is often difficult to get the pieces of butter evenly dispensed over the surface of the corn cob, 2) further depending on the temperature of the butter being spread, the butter may be crumbly and unmanageable.
In general, there are various serving methods and implements for serving and spreading such spreadable food products. Although some containers in which spreadable food products are made available may be suitable as serving containers, these containers do not allow for easy spreading, and additional implements are required to get the food product out of the container and onto the desired cooperating food.
The present invention provides a solution to serving and spreading spreadable food products, especially butter on corn on the cob. A container for dispensing a spreadable food product consists of a housing, a platform positioned within the housing for supporting the spreadable food product, a dispensing mechanism mounted in the housing and attached to the platform for moving the platform from the bottom end of the housing towards the open top end of the housing along an axis for dispensing the spreadable food product, and a cover for removably covering the housing when not in use.
The open top end of the housing may be shaped in a concave shape to receive a cylindrical food object. In another embodiment of the invention, the open top end of the housing may be shaped in a convex shape. In another embodiment, the open top end is of a grid or slotted design.
The container may contain the spreadable food product or it may be designed such that users can fill it up themselves. The spreadable food product may be butter, margarine, cream cheese, nut butters, fruit butters, jellies or others.
The platform on which the spreadable food product is located may be shaped to resemble the shape of the open top end of the housing, or in any other shape as determined by one skilled in the art.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
A description of preferred embodiments of the invention follows.
As illustrated in
The housing 10 is typically constructed of injection molded plastic and includes an open top end 14 for dispensing the butter and/or spreadable food product contained therein, a bottom end 18 for supporting the dispensing member 12, and a side wall 19 for retaining the butter and/or spreadable food product.
In a preferred embodiment, the top end 14 has walls with concave upper edges 13 as shown in
The present invention is not limited to a particular shape of the top end 14. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the concave upper edges 13 may be perpendicular to what is shown in
Other designs are suitable for top end 14.
Returning to
With reference to
The dispensing member 12 includes a rotary dial 8 (
In one embodiment of the invention, the spreadable food product is loaded into the container 1 (dispensing unit 10) at the manufacturing site and through retail stores is distributed already enclosed in the dispenser-container 1. Such a dispenser-container unit 1 may be disposable, so that users may dispose of it once the platform 22 reaches the top end 14 of the dispensing unit 10 and no spreadable food product remains therein.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the dispenser-container 1 may be multi-use, such that users have an opportunity to load the dispensing unit/housing 10 with the spreadable food product of their choice. This loading may occur while the spreadable food product is in the slightly melted or solid state. In addition, food products may be sold in a shape convenient for loading into dispenser-container 1. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the dispensing unit/housing 10 may come originally pre-loaded with the spreadable food product, which the user refills as desired.
Numerous spreadable food products may be used with dispenser-container 1, their main characteristic being sensitivity to temperature, such that they melt at warmer temperatures and remain solid at colder ones. The spreadability of the food product increases with the temperature, so that whether the dispenser-container is stored in the refrigerator or outside may be determined by the users based on the type of food product being dispensed. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, dispenser-container 1 may be equipped with an additional cooling unit or, alternatively, a removable unit that may be stored in the refrigerator for a period of time, and then placed on or in the dispensing unit/housing 10 in order to maintain the colder temperature.
While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.
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